New Somersetshire
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New Somersetshire was a failed British colony in what is now the U.S. state of Maine.
[edit] History
The sole Proprietor of New Somersetshire (1635 - 1647) was Sir Ferdinando Gorges, formerly the associate of John Mason as Proprietors of Maine.
Gorges and Mason had divided the province into two parts in 1629. Mason took the southern part, naming it the Province of New Hampshire, while Gorges took the land north and east of the Piscataqua River. Gorges named his portion New Somersetshire, purchasing the territory from the Plymouth Council for New England in 1635.
In 1639, Stuart king Charles I of England chartered the New Somersetshire territory to Gorges as the new Province of Maine.
[edit] Sources
- WorldStatesmen- US States L-M
- Famous Americans - Sir Ferdinando Gorges
- [http://www.bartleby.com/65/go/Gorges-S.html Columbia Encyclopedia - Gorges, Sir Ferdinando
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